Variety field guide
What to expect from Old Fashioned Mustard
Old Fashioned Mustard is a familiar leafy green in Southern gardens, grown for lively flavor and useful harvests.
Open the complete descriptionHide the complete descriptionVariety traits, flavor, garden use, and the complete description
Old Fashioned Mustard is a familiar leafy green in Southern gardens, grown for lively flavor and useful harvests. Tender young leaves add a peppery bite to a mixed salad; larger leaves are suited to simmering, sauteing or combining with other greens. A cool-season planting keeps the leaves at their best. Pick a few outer leaves as needed, leaving the middle to grow, or cut whole plants for a pot of greens.
Minimum seeds per packet: 250 seeds.
Traditional Southern greens with a lively mustard bite.
Variety and background
Old Fashioned is a Southern leaf mustard, grown primarily for greens rather than as a dedicated condiment-seed crop.
Growing facts
| Scientific name | Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. |
|---|---|
| Life cycle | Annual |
| Maturity / harvest basis | 40-49 Days |
| Seed depth | 1/4 in |
| Germination | 3-7 days |
| Germination temperature | 45-60 F |
| Plant height / spread | 19–24 in |
| Habit | Rosette |
| Plant spacing | 6 in |
| Row spacing | 12 in |
| Sunlight | Full - Partial Sun |
| Pollination type | Open-Pollinated (OP) |
Starting from seed
Direct sow in early spring or late summer, 1/4 in. deep. At 45-60 F allow 3-7 days. Thin to 6 in. apart, rows 12 in. apart. Give sun, fertile soil and regular water. Fine insect netting helps protect seedlings from flea beetles.
Planting and care
Direct sow in early spring or late summer, 1/4 in. deep. At 45-60 F allow 3-7 days. Thin to 6 in. apart, rows 12 in. apart. Give sun, fertile soil and regular water. Fine insect netting helps protect seedlings from flea beetles. Old Fashioned is a Southern leaf mustard, grown primarily for greens rather than as a dedicated condiment-seed crop.
Harvest and use
Begin with young leaves or cut larger greens around 42 days from sowing, before they toughen. Wash and refrigerate. For seed, isolate other B. juncea varieties and let selected plants flower; collect dry pods before they shatter.
Saving seed
Select several healthy, true-to-type Old Fashioned plants that match the expected rosette habit and overall plant form. Avoid saving seed only from the earliest or largest individual unless that is your deliberate selection goal. Pollination system: Open-pollinated herb or leafy crop. Compatible plants of the same species may cross to varying degrees through insects or wind. Separate compatible varieties that may flower together, or use cages, barriers, hand pollination, or another documented control appropriate to the crop. Allow selected plants to pass the eating stage and reach full botanical seed maturity. Harvest only when seed heads, pods, or fruits have matured enough for sound seed development. Clean the seed carefully, dry it thoroughly away from direct heat, label the lot with variety and year, and store it cool, dark, and dry. Test germination before an important planting or distribution season.
Common problems
Common concerns: Flea beetles, imported cabbageworm, cabbage loopers, aphids, slugs, root maggots, and clubroot risk where the pathogen is present. Management: Use rotation, insect netting before pests arrive, regular leaf inspection, sanitation, and well-drained soil. Do not plant the same brassica family repeatedly in one bed. Diagnosis note: Similar symptoms can have different causes. Compare plants of the same age, record weather and irrigation, and use local Extension or diagnostic support before applying a control.
Frequently asked questions
What distinguishes this selection?
Old Fashioned is a Southern leaf mustard, grown primarily for greens rather than as a dedicated condiment-seed crop.
How should I start it?
Direct sow in early spring or late summer, 1/4 in. deep. At 45-60 F allow 3-7 days. Thin to 6 in. apart, rows 12 in. apart. Give sun, fertile soil and regular water. Fine insect netting helps protect seedlings from flea beetles.
When and how should I harvest?
Begin with young leaves or cut larger greens around 42 days from sowing, before they toughen. Wash and refrigerate. For seed, isolate other B. juncea varieties and let selected plants flower; collect dry pods before they shatter.
Can I save seed?
Select several healthy, true-to-type Old Fashioned plants that match the expected rosette habit and overall plant form. Avoid saving seed only from the earliest or largest individual unless that is your deliberate selection goal. Pollination system: Open-pollinated herb or leafy crop. Compatible plants of the same species may cross to varying degrees through insects or wind. Separate compatible varieties that may flower together, or use cages, barriers, hand pollination, or another documented control appropriate to the crop. Allow selected plants to pass the eating stage and reach full botanical seed maturity. Harvest only when seed heads, pods, or fruits have matured enough for sound seed development. Clean the seed carefully, dry it thoroughly away from direct heat, label the lot with variety and year, and store it cool, dark, and dry. Test germination before an important planting or distribution season.
